Mind the gaps...

I only write these when I have a moment of inspiration and, as you can see, they don't come about that frequently!


So, I went to see "Arthur Christmas" and fell asleep in the middle. But, that aside, the scene that struck me was when the elves are left in the mothersleigh after Santa has left the room and they are all standing there, hundreds of them, in silence, staring blankly, just waiting for something to happen, not knowing what to do. From somewhere within me came the thought, "They look like a congregation..." - now, please DON'T get me wrong here, of course they don't look like a congregation!! But why did I think this? Well, I've mulled it over and I think I've nailed it. They looked like a congregation can look in the gaps between the words being up on the screen. Think about it? We have, for years, been teaching each other that we should do what the person on the stage does, sing what they sing, no more and no less. I confess I have tended to do the same when I'm in the congregation: sing the words when they're up and when they're not, wait for the next lot of words to go up when I will know what to do again. 

I think it's time to mind the gaps. The gaps give us opportunity to express something beyond that which is being served up to us, but, this requires something extra from us as participants in the gathering in which we find ourselves. Ooh, it's sounding slightly Church 2.0, isn't it (see Vicky Beeching's blog here)? I know we have sections when we have a bit of free singing, but what if our expected this to be the norm? That this flow was the interplay between that which is provided and that which is brought by you and me? Imagine!


We, as Brits, can be quite a reserved bunch. In the States I've seen a much more vociferous approach to these times when we are together, both in the sung worship times and in the message. Shouts of encouragement for whoever is preaching seemed common - how would we react if someone shouted out mid preach, "That's a GOOD word, preach it!!"? A time of embarrassed shuffling would quickly be upon us, I suggest!


So, I'm not exhorting us to become all American in nature, but I do think it's time to mind the gaps and see what we can bring to loosen ourselves up a bit more in our expression to Him in our sung/musical times of worship. Some simply need permission to express what's in them a bit more. Sure, it'd be a bit different to start with, but over time we'd get used to it and it would become more natural and we could, much more, all be part of the "band".


What do you think?

All around us...

Sin is so embedded in our surroundings that we can tend not to notice. I play a little game from time to time called "What if there was no sin?" and pondered it again yesterday as I queued for tickets for the Saints v. Hartlepool game. (God told me to start supporting the Saints.)


Firstly, I'm going to buy a ticket which is proof of my payment. Proof because I might lie and get in for free. I get to the front of the queue and see the ticket seller on the other side of a window and we communicate via the microphone and speaker system installed. This level of protection is necessary for their safety, presumably. I use my bank card to pay. This is a sophisticated piece of plastic that should mean that my transaction is secure on the one hand, and shows I am whom I say I am on the other. I've failed to sign the back of my card as I have not found a single pen that writes on it so I need to show my driving license as well to prove my signature is indeed mine.


The cards are passed via a sliding drawer that prevents me grabbing the ticket seller's hand and, well, doing what I don't know. I sign and duly receive our tickets and my receipt. Another proof of payment. Now, the tickets are pretty special too, designed to be difficult to forge with lots of colour printing and a couple of hologram type metallic logos. There are tear off strips so that the ticket cannot be re-used after entering the ground. When we do enter later just before 3pm the said strip is removed by the guy on the entrance (oh, after my manbag has been searched...) and he pushes a button to allow the military grade full height turnstile to move and let me in. Phew!


Then we go and watch a game where one of the players' main objectives is to mis-lead the officials into giving favourable but incorrect decisions. When they don't, they get verbally abused.


It's a funny old game.


The game of "What if there was no sin?" helps me to see just how desperate is our need of Jesus. We can forget, especially on a sunny day when your team wins again(!), that this place is in a real mess and that is why He had to come and lay down His life once and for all.


"And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness."

The church in Laodicea...

This came to mind last night and unless I blog it I'll be running it around in my head endlessly.


In Revelation 3:14-18 we find the well known passage about lukewarmness:


 ¹⁴ “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:

   These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. ¹⁵ I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! ¹⁶ So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. ¹⁷ You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. ¹⁸ I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see."

I remember reading somewhere that this was best interpreted in relation to the geography of the place and, specifically, its water supply. Whilst very well placed for trade, Laodicea was not established near an adequate water supply and water had to be piped in ten or so miles from Colossae which had an abundant cold water supply. By the time the water arrived it was lukewarm. About six miles away was Hierapolis which boasted hot springs but, similarly, by the time the water arrived it, too, was lukewarm.

The point here, is that both hot and cold water had a usefulness not present in lukewarm water. The cold was used for drinking and gardening, and the hot for washing etc. Lukewarm water was good for nothing.

Verse 15 contains the phrase, "I wish you were either one or the other!" Does Jesus wish that we were atheists rather than in-between?* That's what it looks like on first reading and seems to be the majority interpretation when researched. But, the explanation with respect to the water supply makes more sense to me.

The warning against lukewarmness remains in either case, but the subsidiary point about better to be atheist than lukewarm is open to debate, given the geographical information above.

The inclusion of the eye salve reference also backs this up as Laodicea was not only a centre of trade and banking (and special black wool) but also famed for its medicine. This salve was reported to cure certain types of eye disease and was world famous. It would seem odd to directly refer to the salve as it was in Laodicea and not be referencing the water temperature in the same way.

There, thanks.

*An argument re it being better to be atheistic than lukewarm goes that there is more hope in this case than the middle ground. I'm not convinced...